Update on December 05, 2012

Does an Animal Abuser Live in Your Neighborhood?
Our communities have good reason to be concerned about the whereabouts of animal abusers. We hear story after heartbreaking story, about animal abusers repeating their violent crimes against helpless animals, and often go on to victimize people as well.
We have the right to want to keep our animals and families safe.
Currently, there are three animal abuse registries in the United States, all of them in New York state, although registries have been proposed in other states and regions. In 2010, Suffolk Country became the first place in the country to create a registry—protect those Hamptons polo ponies! Rockland and Albany counties followed. Two bills that are currently before the state assembly—S. 3804 and A. 1506—are also seeking to create animal abuse registries that would apply to the entire state.
Mandatory registration for convicted animal abusers would aid dramatically in keeping offenders away from potential new victims by alerting law enforcement and the public to their whereabouts, and by allowing animal shelters to thoroughly screen potential adopters for criminal offenders. This in turn would reduce the enormous cost burdens our shelters face in caring for these animal victims.